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Realtor once told me: "This is a really nice starting home" for a property that costed $1.2M around mid-2019 in Santa Clara area. Like who the heck can afford $

Realtor once told me: "This is a really nice starting home" for a property that costed $1.2M around mid-2019 in Santa Clara area. Like who the heck can afford $1.2M starting house without a well paid tech job?

masklinn 4y ago
He’s a part-time shrimp breeder, she knits sweaters out of cat hair, their budget is 3.4 millions. The answer is trust fund babies.
- courgette 4y ago
  And the answer to that answer is inheritance taxes and redistribution.
  - madaxe_again 4y ago
    The answer to that is vested interests and a government almost entirely staffed by fifth generation nepo-babies. But maybe they’ll pull up the ladder if you ask nicely - it would be quite advantageous for them for your children to not receive your wealth, but for them to instead redistribute it amongst themselves and their friends. And I say this as someone who fundamentally agrees with your point in essence, but can’t see a practical way that doesn’t involve the collapse of nations.
    - courgette 4y ago
      yah. I think you'r sadly right. Not sure what the answers to your point is beside some unpleasant time.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > answer is trust fund babies Trust-fund babies aren’t buying single-family homes for a million dollars in Santa Clara.
  - cvhashim04 4y ago
    Probably as investments
kubb 4y ago
I think when supporting a family you'll need level 6 at FAANG for 10 years to pay that comfortably. It's not stable employment though, as we all know.
fooblaster 4y ago
1.2 million seems pretty low for Santa Clara honestly, if you are talking about a single family home
- fooblaster 4y ago
  where I am currently living in redwood city it is impossible to find anything below 1000$/ft^2 today.
- tomashertus 4y ago
  This was 3 years ago. Today it's almost impossible to buy a single family home for that amount in that area.
- Fatnino 4y ago
  Crack open any of the free local newspapers. Doesn't really matter which, they are all ~75% real estate ads. You'll be hard pressed to find anything for less than 7 digits.
  - masklinn 4y ago
    ??? 1.2 millions is 7, GP says that is low for the area, aka they’d expect mid 7 or above, not that they’d expect 6.
    - Fatnino 4y ago
      Yes. I'm not contradicting GP
linguae 4y ago
I make six figures in tech in Silicon Valley, yet the closest places I can afford to purchase a home that isn't in a dangerous neighborhood are in far-flung exurban towns in the Central Valley such as Lathrop, Patterson, and Los Banos (my price range is in the lower $500,000s). Thus I continue to rent my one-bedroom apartment in Santa Cruz County. I'd love to buy in the Monterey Bay Area, but it's too expensive and the situation is exacerbated by the area's very low inventory. Silicon Valley is out the question. It's a difficult situation; I'd like to own a house so I can have more space and to have a place of my own. However, I have many ties in Silicon Valley that make it hard for me to move, though if I get married and start a family, I will have to move anyway unless I change jobs due to the sheer cost of housing. I am contemplating moving back to my hometown of Sacramento, which is a three hour train ride to San Jose via the Amtrak Capitol Corridor. Sacramento is close enough to my Silicon Valley office to where I could attend my once-per-week in-person meetings (I work a hybrid role), and it's a very diverse metro area with many cultural amenities. I'm admittedly not crazy about returning to Sacramento, but I find it better than the alternatives.

masklinn 4y ago

He’s a part-time shrimp breeder, she knits sweaters out of cat hair, their budget is 3.4 millions. The answer is trust fund babies.

courgette 4y ago
And the answer to that answer is inheritance taxes and redistribution.
- madaxe_again 4y ago
  The answer to that is vested interests and a government almost entirely staffed by fifth generation nepo-babies. But maybe they’ll pull up the ladder if you ask nicely - it would be quite advantageous for them for your children to not receive your wealth, but for them to instead redistribute it amongst themselves and their friends. And I say this as someone who fundamentally agrees with your point in essence, but can’t see a practical way that doesn’t involve the collapse of nations.
  - courgette 4y ago
    yah. I think you'r sadly right. Not sure what the answers to your point is beside some unpleasant time.
JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> answer is trust fund babies Trust-fund babies aren’t buying single-family homes for a million dollars in Santa Clara.
- cvhashim04 4y ago
  Probably as investments

kubb 4y ago

I think when supporting a family you'll need level 6 at FAANG for 10 years to pay that comfortably. It's not stable employment though, as we all know.

fooblaster 4y ago

1.2 million seems pretty low for Santa Clara honestly, if you are talking about a single family home

fooblaster 4y ago
where I am currently living in redwood city it is impossible to find anything below 1000$/ft^2 today.
tomashertus 4y ago
This was 3 years ago. Today it's almost impossible to buy a single family home for that amount in that area.
Fatnino 4y ago
Crack open any of the free local newspapers. Doesn't really matter which, they are all ~75% real estate ads. You'll be hard pressed to find anything for less than 7 digits.
- masklinn 4y ago
  ??? 1.2 millions is 7, GP says that is low for the area, aka they’d expect mid 7 or above, not that they’d expect 6.
  - Fatnino 4y ago
    Yes. I'm not contradicting GP

linguae 4y ago

I make six figures in tech in Silicon Valley, yet the closest places I can afford to purchase a home that isn't in a dangerous neighborhood are in far-flung exurban towns in the Central Valley such as Lathrop, Patterson, and Los Banos (my price range is in the lower $500,000s). Thus I continue to rent my one-bedroom apartment in Santa Cruz County. I'd love to buy in the Monterey Bay Area, but it's too expensive and the situation is exacerbated by the area's very low inventory. Silicon Valley is out the question. It's a difficult situation; I'd like to own a house so I can have more space and to have a place of my own. However, I have many ties in Silicon Valley that make it hard for me to move, though if I get married and start a family, I will have to move anyway unless I change jobs due to the sheer cost of housing. I am contemplating moving back to my hometown of Sacramento, which is a three hour train ride to San Jose via the Amtrak Capitol Corridor. Sacramento is close enough to my Silicon Valley office to where I could attend my once-per-week in-person meetings (I work a hybrid role), and it's a very diverse metro area with many cultural amenities. I'm admittedly not crazy about returning to Sacramento, but I find it better than the alternatives.